A little wet but no less jubilant, Denton County Democrats gathered Wednesday at J&J’s Pizza on the Square to celebrate President Obama’s first 100 days in office.

The celebration was to take place outside the Courthouse on the Square, but a bout of afternoon showers forced the group indoors.

DRC/Gary Payne

Denton County Democratic Party Chairman Neil Durrance talks about President Obama’s first 100 days in office on Wednesday night at J&J’s Pizza in Denton.

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About 40 people attended.

“Thank you all for swimming in — we know the tide was against you,” said Neil Durrance, chairman of the Denton County Democratic Party.

Organizers said the celebration was planned to bring attention to what Obama has done in his first 100 days in the White House.

“To celebrate the change he has brought to the country with his hard work and his intelligence and his honest efforts to fix the problems of the last eight years,” said Mary Infante, communications chairwoman for the county Democratic Party.

She said there are concrete results to be proud of.

Obama has put programs in place to slow down the loss of homes to foreclosures, she said, and he has addressed the CIA’s use of harsh interrogation tactics.

“We’re guiding down a new path — the major celebration is we are traveling down a new path that Americans and the world at large are really relieved to see,” Infante said.

A lot of local residents worked hard to get Obama into office, Infante said. Among Texas counties, Denton County was the second-largest contributor to Obama’s presidential campaign, behind Travis County, she said.

The event featured words from Denton City Council member Charlye Heggins, reflecting on Obama’s first 100 days in poetic verse, and from Lico Reyes, who led the gathering in singing “Bye Bye Bush,” to the tune of “Bye Bye Love.”

Also speaking were representatives of the Democratic Women of Denton, a new organization. Machelle Ashbaugh, treasurer, spoke about some of the group’s intentions and invited all women to a Lewisville kickoff event in June.

Infante said planned musical acts had canceled before the event, though acoustic music was provided by local musicians including 12-year-old Adam Sygner, who attended the celebration with his family.

Durrance took the floor toward the end of the celebration to speak about the start of Obama’s term, what it means to the party going forward and the work that needs to be done. Durrance likened Obama to President Franklin D. Roosevelt, who had to hit the ground running to try to fix the economy.

“We had a group a few weeks ago out here whining and dissenting about stopping spending and a lot of things,” Durrance said, referring to the recent “tea party” tax protest on the courthouse lawn. “Dissenting is as American as apple pie, but if you want to whine and dissent and you don’t have a better plan, then you are just whining.”

The Democratic Party has the plan, he said. He reminded people of the “yes we can” mantra of the Obama campaign.

“We have to not just say what we believe in — we have to work for that change for family, friends, churches, workplace and towns,” Durrance said.

BJ LEWIS can be reached at 940-566-6875. His e-mail address is blewis@dentonrc.com .